Fork.



No. 843,472. PATENTED FEB. 5, 1907.

F. LOTTER.

FORK.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT.12,1906.

- By l @Mfr TNTTF STATES PATENT FFTUF.

FRANK LOTTER, OF ELKTON, MICHIGAN.

FORK.

Application filed September 12, 1906.

To @ZZ 'Le/tom, t puny concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK Lo'rrnn, resilling at Elkton, in the county of Huron and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Forks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in forks, particularly adapted vfor use in lifting beans after they have been pulled with the ordinary bean-harvesters and 'for gathering and lifting from the ground sugar-beets, chickery-roots, and the iike.

Primarily my invention has for its object to provide a 'fork of this character of a very simple and effective construction, that can be easily and. cheaply manufactured, and which will readily and effectively serve its intended purposes.

Generically the invention comprises a fork similar to an ordinary pitchfork arranged with the prongs (liverging Afrom the body or back of the fork, and each prong is curved in side elevation into a shape approximately to that of a Scythe-blade. Each tooth or prong also has its upper face coneaved transversely throughout about three-'fifths of its length from the back of the fork, and throughout the remaining two-fifths of its length each prong has its upper surface flat, so that the prongs of the fork will have a pair of knife or shea-n ing ef'ges at their upper faces throughout three-fifths of their length, while the prongs are otherwise substantially U shaped in cross-section.

W'ith other objects in view my invention also comprises a certain novel construction of fork, such as will be 'first described in detail and then be specifically pointed out in the appended claims` reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 4 isa crosssection on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a similar view on the line 5 5 ofF ig. 3.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, in whch like numerals andL letters of reference indicate like parts in all of the figures, 1 designates the fork, which comprises a back la and the handle-receiving socket 1b, in which the handle 2 may be secured. The fork l also includes a plurality of prongs l, arranged closer together at the back l, with which they may` be integrally formed, and

Specification of Letters Patent.

l l l l i l Patented Feb. 5, 1907.

Serial No. 334.309.

projecting from the back l in diverging directions, so that the points l(l of. the 'forkprongs will be at a greater oistanee apart than where the prongs join with the back lil.

Each prong lC is curved in side elevation, as shown in Fig. 2, and has its upper face lc concaved in cross-section, as at 1*, for three- 'fifths of the length of the prong, beginning at the point where the prong joins the back l and extending toward the point 1d, but terminating about two-'fifths the length of the prongs from the point ll. The remaining portion lg of the upper surfaces of the prong is flat across the top, as indicated. By reason of the concaved portion of the prong a pair of knife-exges l prong, so that when the fork is placed und er the beans, beets, or other like material the prongs will take a iirm grip thereon.

In gathering beets or other roots the fork is operated by passing over the root and under the stalks and leaves and pressing them into the narrow space between the prongs. The sharp edges of the prongs take a tight grip thereon, and the root is easily lifted from the ground and thrown into heaps, as desired, after being 'first lifted and loosened with the common lifting-plow.

Vhen my invention is used for gathering roots and the like, the shearing eeges lh of the prongs may be used to cut the roots as they are gathered up, and this action takes place owing to the 'fact that the prongs converge from the points to the back, and as the fork is shoved under the root the root is wedged in between the prongs and at the same time cut by the knife or shearing edges 1h.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is thought the complete construe ion,opera tion, and many advantages of my invention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which it appertains.

That i claim is,J

1. A fork, comprising a back, a handle-receiving portion projecting therefrom, a plurality of prongs diverging from the back, said prongs having their upper surfaces coneaved throughout a portion of their length to provide knife-edges, substantially as shown and described.

2. A fork, comprising a back, a handle-receiving portion projecting therefrom, a plurality of prongs diverging from the back,

is produced on each said prongs having their upper surfaces concaved throughout the major portion of their length;

3. A forli, comprising a back, a handle p0rtion7 and a plurality of prongs projecting from the back, said prongs having their upper surfaces concaverl in cross-section from the back toward the points and having the portion of the upper surface of the prongs afljacent the points Hat, substantially as snown and described.

4. A fork, comprising' a back, a handle portion, and a plurality of prongs projecting from the back, sacl prongs havnlg their upper surfaces concaved in cross-section from the back toward the points and having the portion of the upper surface of the prongs adjacent the points Hat, said prongs being curved in sine elevation and diverglng from the back to the points.

FRANK LOTTER. l/Vitnesses:

W. L. DOYLE, SAMUEL LoTTER. 

